Defiance
by TheOneAndOnlyT87
Summary: [HeathPriscilla] The story of the wyvern rider, Heath: how he came to fight alongside the three lords, and how he fell in love with a certain girl during his stay.
1. Surrender

**

Chapter One  
Surrender  
  


** "Heath."  
The wyvern rider wondered what he was doing here.  
He was a man of average height. He wore a set of plate mail armor covering his chest and brown pants with leg guards. His eyes were piercingly blue, and his hair was dark green. Most notable about his appearance, however, was the straight line of gray running through his green hair, a trait that ran through his family.  
"Heath!"  
He was a member of the elite Wyvern Knights of Bern, a division which flew wyverns into battle. Heath's green-skinned wyvern, Hyperion, had been with him ever since he had started his training. Heath was spectacular with a lance, and Hyperion responded to his movements and commands so deftly it almost seemed as though the two were one being.  
"Hey, Heath!"  
However, Heath had always been an honorable man, even as a soldier. He refused to attack women and children no matter what, along with any civilian men if they did nothing to harm him. His objective now...was to raid the Ostian fortress in front of him and capture a light-green-haired boy, by force if necessary. Heath didn't think he could bring himself to do it.  
"God dammit, Heath, answer me when I call you!"  
The army had been acting like this since last year. Instead of defending their country like they were supposed to, the knights of Bern were invading the outlying lands left and right. Several divisions were burning villages. Heath even heard stories of soldiers mercilessly slaughtering civilians. He didn't want to stay in an army that did such things. Even now, he was considering just giving up and—  
"Ow!"  
Heath snapped out of his reverie as a fist collided with the top of his head. Rubbing his forehead, Heath looked up into the eyes of his blond-haired commander, Eubans.  
"You can't be daydreaming in the middle of a battle, idiot!" Eubans shouted. "Now go out there and secure our objective!"  
"But, sir...there are women and children in this group. I cannot attack them..."  
"Then attack the men! Come on, get in there!"  
The siege of the Ostian fortress was not going very well. The enemy army had been much stronger than anticipated, attacking them with both powerful weapons and magic.  
Heath and Hyperion flew to the side of the fortress.  
_I can't do this...this isn't right...  
_ Hyperion neared the side gate.  
_I can't do this...  
_ Hyperion flew through the gate, into the fortress.  
_I WON'T do this.  
_ "Hyperion, hold."  
The wyvern flew low to the floor and then landed.  
It was then that a blue-haired man rushed into the room, hefting a large battle axe. He took one look at Heath and charged.  
Heath held up his hands, dropping his lance. "No, wait! I do not wish to fight!"  
Seeing Heath drop his weapon, the man hesitated. "What's with that wyvern then, huh?" he asked.  
"I...I wish to surrender to your group," Heath said.  
The man laughed. "Surrender to us?"  
Heath sighed. "If you do not wish to accept me, then—"  
"I didn't say that. We'd be honored to have you in our army. But—" the man pointed the tip of his axe at him, "—if you do _anything_ even _somewhat_ suspicious, I will cut you down where you stand, without hesitation." He shot Heath a threatening glare.  
"Thank you, my lord," Heath said.  
"Drop the formalities. I don't care for such things." He looked Heath up and down, sizing him up. "So," he continued, "what's your name?"  
"I am Heath of Bern."  
"Bern?! You guys came all this way just to attack us and get killed?"  
"I-it was not my decision, er..."  
"Hector," the man told him.  
"Yes, it was not my decision, Hector. I have thought the Bern army unjust for over a year now, and I have now decided to leave them, as you can see."  
"Well, then, Heath, you chose the right side. Now why don't you go out there and we'll see what you can do."  
"I-I can't attack them," Heath said. "My friends...they are out there. And besides...I'm still wearing their colors. I'll probably get attacked by your men."  
"True," Hector replied. "All right, stay inside then. I'll tell the other people that there's a green-haired guy who surrendered, but I'm not sure if everyone will hear. Just keep your guard up."   
Heath nodded.  
"But remember," again he glared at Heath, "I'm watching you. Don't think I'm afraid to use this," he said, pointing at his axe. "And if that wyvern causes any trouble—"  
"He won't," Heath said confidently.  
"Fine. You might want to hide, your friends might show up, you know." He ran off to rejoin his army.  
Heath dismounted Hyperion, picked up his lance, and followed Hector. With Hector leading him, he was not attacked by the other army, although several stared at him and his wyvern. He saw several women as he passed, wondering what they were doing fighting.  
Finally they came to a back room. Hector ordered Heath in.  
"I'll get you when this battle's over," Hector said.  
Heath nodded and led Hyperion in. Hector closed the door and left.  
Heath sat down against the wall, looking at Hyperion. Having ridden the wyvern for so long, Heath had learned to read the wyvern's emotions from his eyes. Right now, Hyperion was giving him an inquisitive look. Apparently he didn't understand why he wasn't killing those people out there.  
"We're on their side now, Hyperion," Heath explained. "I can't fight for Bern anymore—they've become evil."  
A sad look.  
"I know you'll miss the others," Heath said. Contrary to popular belief, wyverns could actually be quite tame creatures. Although they fought fiercely, outside of battle they could be domesticated, but many people did not desire a wyvern in their house. Wyverns could become friends with both humans and other wyverns if given time—Heath and Hyperion were prime examples of this. Hyperion was also friendly with the other wyverns in Heath's division, and it looked now like he missed them.  
"It'll be alright," Heath continued, patting Hyperion's head right between the eyes like he liked. Hyperion's sad look stayed, however.  
Heath heard an explosion outside, presumably from a magic spell.  
"Just be glad we aren't out in that," Heath reassured him. "We'd be dead by now if we hadn't surrendered."  
This seemed to brighten Hyperion's mood somewhat, but the wyvern looked away from Heath, the sad look still in his eyes.  
Heath sighed and looked to his side.  
"I guess we're fugitives now..."  
  


***  
  


So...what do you guys think?  
Like all stories like this, Heath is going to end up with one of the girls, as many of you have probably already guessed. The pairing's already set, so don't ask me to do a certain pairing.  
Anyway, please review and tell me what you think. I'm a bit unsure about this story—hope your reviews change my mind.  
  
-TheOneAndOnlyT  



	2. Meetings

**

Chapter Two  
Meetings  
  


** "Heath."  
Heath looked up. The door had opened, and Hector was standing in it.  
"The battle's over," he said. "Good thing you surrendered, or you'd be dead by now."  
Heath got up. "Thank you, Hector." Hector started to lead Heath out, but Heath asked, "Er, do you have a place for Hyperion?"  
"Who's Hyperion?" Hector asked, before he heard a growl from the wyvern. "Oh. Yeah, we should. We've got a few horses and pegasi, so I assume another animal won't kill us. Just...what does that thing eat, anyway?"  
"Um...any meat will do, as long as it is uncooked. He likes it that way."  
Hector gave the wyvern a slightly disgusted look before continuing. "All right, that should be fine. Come on, I'll introduce you to everyone."  
"Do you think I could bring Hyperion to wherever he's supposed to go first? I don't think you want a wyvern running around this fortress..."  
Hector sighed. "Fine." He led Heath and Hyperion to the stables; Hector couldn't think of another place to put the wyvern. After Heath had properly harnessed him, promising the wyvern he would be back later, he and Hector went off to meet the rest of the army.  
Hector led him to the throne room, where four other people were standing. The first was a brown-haired man dressed in plain green traveler's robes. The second was a young man with fiery red hair and blue eyes, wearing a blue shirt and brown pants. A rapier was strapped to his side. The third was a woman (again Heath wondered what the women were doing fighting) with long green hair tied back in a ponytail. She wore a blue shirt and long skirt, cut so her legs were bare. The last man, sitting on the throne, looked like an older Hector, except his face was much paler and had a variety of scars on it.  
He pointed at the brown-haired man, "This is Mark, our tactician," he pointed at the red-haired man, "This is Lord Eliwood of Pherae," he pointed at the woman, "This is Lady Lyndis of Caelin," finally he pointed at the man sitting on the throne, "and this is my brother, Lord Uther of Ostia.  
"Everyone, this is Heath of Bern."  
They all said hello, while Heath, who had never been in the presence of nobility before, quickly dropped to one knee.  
Hector laughed at him. "I told you before, drop the formalities. You don't have to worry about those with us."  
Unsure, Heath slowly got up. "May I ask," he said, "why so many nobles from different lands are gathered at this fortress?"  
"It's a long story," Eliwood said. He told Heath about The Scouring, the war between men and dragons a millenium ago; how dragons had been banished from the world. He told him about Nergal, an evil man who desired to bring dragons back for his own purposes. He told him how their army had already fought Nergal once, and gravely wounded him, and how now they had to stop Nergal before his power was restored.  
Heath didn't know whether to believe Eliwood or not.  
"I know it sounds crazy," Eliwood said, "but it is all true. We will have your aid in the battles ahead, I gather?"  
"Yes, my lo—er, Eliwood," he replied. Hector laughed at him again.  
"Very well then," Eliwood said. "You may take your leave. Hector will show you around after we are don't talking."  
"Wait, I have one question," he said, looking at Lyndis. "Why do you have women fight in your army? I have sworn to myself never to attack any women or children."  
Lyndis gave him a small smile. "Women can fight just as well as men can," she said. "Eliwood and Hector both know that the women here can fight just as well as them, if not better."  
Hector muttered something that sounded like "I could beat you any day" under his breath. Heath suppressed a laugh. "All right," he said, "I'll wait for you outside, Hector." He walked out of the room, leaving the lords to discuss other matters.  
After several minutes, the lords filed out of the room. Hector went over to Heath and started leading him around the fortress.  
"I heard what you said there about Lyndis," Heath said. "Is that actually true? Have you sparred with her at all?"  
"Yeah, once," Hector replied. "I won," he added hastily, "but that doesn't mean she can't fight. I might be a bit stronger than her, but she is extremely fast. She doesn't even wear armor—she never needs it. She can just dodge anything that an enemy throws at her."  
Heath's eyes widened a bit as he looked at Lyndis walking away, speaking with Eliwood. "So," he said, looking at Hector again, "you, uh, do have a place I can stay, right?"  
"As long as you don't mind sharing a room with a woman," Hector said, smirking.  
Heath smirked back. "Why would I mind that?"  
Hector laughed. "Haha! I like your attitude, Heath. It's a good thing you decided to come with us."  
Heath smiled. "Just...why do the men and women share rooms? They aren't separated here?"  
"It's another one of Lyndis's 'women-are-equal-to-men' ideas. She thinks that the women shouldn't be separated from the men when they are just as good as them. Of course," he added, smirking again, "all the men agreed to that wholeheartedly. Sain almost passed out from joy."  
"Who's Sain?" Heath asked.  
"You'll see in a second."  
Surely enough, as they passed into the soldier's rooms, Heath saw a dark brown-haired man wearing green armor attempting to flirt with a short young woman with pink hair in pigtails, wearing a long purple robe.  
"Oh, beauteous vision of delight! Serra, please grace me with your presence!" the man said.  
Serra just rolled her eyes and walked away.  
"That was Sain," Hector said after they were a good distance away. "He says that sort of stuff to every girl he meets. I'm surprised he hasn't given up yet."  
Heath laughed.  
"And the pink-haired girl is Serra. She's a cleric, although you wouldn't know that if you talked to her. She usually never shuts up. The worst part of that is that she's one of the people healing us, so you have to cope with her every time you're injured. It makes getting hurt ten times worse."  
The only other person Heath met as they were walking down the hall was a man with purple hair and eyes, wearing a long black robe. He was carrying a large stack of books, and as the man said hello, the stack of books shook precariously. The man ran off to wherever he was going before the books could fall.  
"Who was that?" Heath asked.  
"That's Canas," Hector replied. "He's one of our mages. He uses dark magic, but never call it that in front of him. He'll just start ranting how 'it's not _dark_ magic, it's just an elder magic our ancestors used.' I don't think so though. Once you see what he does, you'll definitely think it's dark magic."  
They finally came to the room where Heath was supposed to stay. Hector knocked on the door. "Priscilla? Are you in there?" he asked.  
"Yes, I am, Lord Hector," came the muffled voice from inside the room. "You may come in."  
Hector sighed as he opened the door. "How many times have I told you not to call me _Lord_ Hector? It's just Hector, all right?"  
Heath looked at the woman in front of him. She was a bit shorter than he was, with short auburn hair and deep green eyes. She wore a green and white dress, and she carried a golden staff with a small spherical sapphire on the end. Heath also noticed that she had tucked what looked like small white feathers behind her ears. "I apologize, Hector," she said. "Does someone need to be heal—oh," she looked at Heath, "and who might you be?"  
"I found you a roommate," Hector explained. "This is Heath. Heath, this is Priscilla, another one of our healers. You won't mind, will you, Priscilla?"  
"Of course not," she replied. She turned to Heath, smiling shyly. "Hello, Heath," she said. "Pleased to meet you."  
"Pleased to meet you as well, Priscilla," he replied, also smiling.  
"Well, I have to go talk with Eliwood and Lyndis, so I'll leave you two alone now," Hector said, and he left.  
"So, I guess we're staying together," Heath said. "You're one of our medics, I gather?"  
"Yes, I am," she replied. "I am trained in the use of healing staves like this," she pointed at the staff she was holding, "but I am also trying to learn to use anima magic, so that I can help out the army and don't have to stay in the back."  
"I don't think you need to help the army any more than you do now," Heath said. "Medics are vital—what would we do if you went into battle and got hurt?"  
"That is true," she said. Looking away, she continued, "But still—I don't want to be seen as a defenseless girl who needs constant protection...I want to help out."  
"Well then, I wish you luck in learning magic," Heath said. She looked at him and smiled. "I personally don't really care for magic though," he continued. "My lance and Hyperion are all I need."  
"Hyperion?" she asked.  
"Oh—my wyvern. I'm a wyvern knight, you see."  
"Really? I've never met a wyvern rider before."  
"Well, now you have," he said, smiling. "I trust you'll be there to heal me if I get hurt? Hector already told me about Serra."  
Priscilla laughed. "I see. Then yes, I will be there if you need me."  
Heath smiled. "Right, thanks." Removing his boots and armor, he lay down on his new bed. "Well, I'm gonna get some rest," he said. "Wake me up if someone needs me, all right?"  
"I will," she replied. "Sweet dreams, Heath."  
Heath closed his eyes and smiled. _She certainly is a nice girl,_ he thought as he fell asleep.  
  


***  
  


Well, I think the pairing's pretty obvious now :|  
What do you guys think of this chapter? I spent awhile working out the dialogue of each of the characters. Did I portray them right?  
Please review!  
  
-TheOneAndOnlyT  



	3. Fight and Flight

Hey, check it out, responses to reviewers!  
  
Millenium Slinky: You think Heath is too chivalrous to intrude on a woman's privacy? *checks your profile* Oh, I see, you're a girl. Then let's just say you will _never_ understand how us guys think, ever. Just ignore it, cause there's no way you can understand :P  
  
Gyrfalcon: It probably looks strange because almost every other fic on this site is double-spaced. For some reason, I seem to be the only user able to make single spacing...  
  
khmerboi919: Good for you, you were the first to wonder what impact Raven might have on the couple-to-be. Let's just say he's not going to be helpful for them...  
  
Now, to continue the story...  
  
**

Chapter Three  
Fight and Flight  
  


** "Heath..."  
Heath opened his eyes to see Priscilla gently rousing him. He yawned, rubbed his eyes, and asked, "Someone need me?"  
"No," she said, smiling, "but we're leaving."  
"Oh." He got up. "Where are we going?"  
"To the Nabata Desert," she replied.  
Heath's eyes widened. "We're going all that way? That'll take us fifteen days, at least!"  
"I know. But Lord Hector said—"  
"It's just Hector," Heath teased.  
She laughed. "Fine, _Hector_ said that we need to go there to help us out in our fight with Nergal. I don't really understand why, but if it will help us, then I will not object."  
Heath sighed. "Well, I guess it will give Hyperion some exercise, at least...Are you going to walk the whole way?"  
"No," she replied, "I ride a horse."  
"Oh. Well actually, if you had said yes, I was going to ask if you wanted to ride Hyperion with me."  
She laughed again. "I don't think that would be a good idea."  
"Why not?" he asked.  
"I'm, well, a bit afraid of heights," she replied, smiling with some embarrassment. "But I appreciate your offer."  
"All right then." He started putting on his boots and armor. As he walked out the door, though, Priscilla stopped him.  
"Heath? Can I ask you something?" she asked.  
"You just did," he replied, turning back to her. He saw that her face was a bit flushed. "But you can ask me something else, if you like," he continued, grinning.  
She smiled. "Well, I was wondering...i-if you do not mind, that is...that while we are traveling, if...you would continue to stay with me. It's lonely when I'm by myself in the tent, and...y-you seem like a nice person," she said. Heath noticed she said the last part with some effort.  
Heath smiled at her. "Of course," he replied. "I don't really know anyone else in this army, and you seem like a nice person yourself."  
Priscilla's cheeks turned pink. "Thank you," she said.  
  
Heath went to the stables to find Hyperion eating a piece of meat the guards had given him. He let Hyperion out as several other people came into the stable to find their horses, and for some, pegasi. Heath flew Hyperion to the front of the fortress, where he found Mark and the three lords waiting for him, along with several other people.  
After everyone had come, the three lords went around, checking to see if everyone was ready to leave.  
"You settled in there, Heath?" Hector asked as he passed.  
"Yeah, I'm ready," Heath replied.  
"All right," Eliwood said after they were done checking, "let's go!"  
Hyperion unfurled his wings and they took off.  
As Heath flew slowly above the traveling group, he saw a pegasus knight flying some distance away from him. He flew over to the pegasus, and riding it, he saw a short girl with curly light purple hair, wearing blue light armor. He noticed her face turned bright red as she noticed him approaching.  
"Hey there," he said to the pegasus knight, "My name's Heath, and I'm a wyvern knight. What's your name?"  
"H-h-hello," the girl stammered. "I-I'm F-Fl-Florina. P-pleased to m-meet you, H-Heath..."  
"Pleased to meet you as well, Florina," Heath replied. Her face was still bright red, and noticing this, Heath continued, "Are you all right?"  
"I-I'm f-f-fine," the girl replied.  
"You'll have to excuse her," came another voice from behind him. Heath turned around to see another pegasus knight. Her face looked like Florina's, but her hair was straight and much longer, along with being bright green. "Florina's a bit...shy...around men," she continued.  
"I see," Heath said, looking back at Florina, whose face was still bright red. Turning back to the other girl, he asked, "And who might you be?"  
"I am Fiora, her sister," she replied. "You are our new wyvern knight, I see."  
"Yes, I am," Heath replied. "My name is Heath. And we'll be flying alongside one another, I gather?"  
"It seems like it," Fiora replied.  
  
As the group traveled, Heath became fast friends with Priscilla. They were not able to talk to each other too often, but Heath liked talking with her and she seemed to enjoy his company. The journey passed quicker than Heath expected, and the group soon found themselves at the beginning of the sands of the Nabata Desert. There, they found several bandits—but the bandits seemed to be focused on someone else. Heath could see the man they were attacking in the distance, wearing gray robes, but that was all he could make out. Deciding that they had to help out a man in such peril, Eliwood sent in his group to take care of the bandits.  
Those who were not on horseback did not have much trouble moving in, but those who were had several problems. Their horses could not dig into the sand with their hooves, and several were slowed down considerably. Heath noticed Priscilla at the edge of the sand, almost unable to move. He flew down to her to help.  
"Need help there?" he asked her.  
"My horse," she said. "He can't walk in the sand."  
Heath grinned. "Want to come with me then?"  
Priscilla looked at him, a slight expression of fear spreading over her face. "Oh," she said, "I couldn't burden you."  
"Nonsense," Heath said. "Come on, get on. It's not as bad as you think."  
Unsure, Priscilla took her staff, slowly got off her horse, and slid onto the wyvern's back.  
"Hold on tight," Heath said.  
She did so. "Just don't go too—AH!" She screamed as Hyperion suddenly took off, soaring into the air.  
Heath looked back at her; she was clinging to him for dear life and squeezing her eyes shut as hard as she could. When she opened them, she took one look down and nearly fainted. "Nonononono!" she shouted. "Not so high! _Not so high_!"  
Heath laughed. "Come on, it's not _that_ bad, is it?"  
"_Please, fly lower!_" she nearly screamed.  
Seeing her fear, Heath directed Hyperion downwards, stopping so he and Priscilla were just a few feet off the ground. "Is that better?" he asked.  
"Y-yes," she stammered. She was trembling. "I-I told y-you, I-I'm afraid of h-heights..."  
"Well, confronting your fears head-on is the best way to deal with them, isn't it?"  
"P-perhaps...b-but next time...please _tell_ me when you are g-going to do that, okay?"  
Heath smiled at her. "Okay. Want to try again?"  
She paled. "N-not now...I think th-that was enough excitement f-for one day," she said, trying to smile.  
Heath laughed. "Well, you handled it better than I thought you would...you didn't faint, for one thing."  
Priscilla laughed weakly. "I-I guess so...Heath! Behind you!"  
Heath whipped around and saw a bandit coming for him, armed with a crude iron axe. Piece of cake. "Hold on," he told Priscilla. She did so, and Heath suddenly rushed forward, lance in front of him. The bandit, not expecting the attack, feebly tried to block the lance, but failed. He slumped to the ground, dead.  
Heath pulled out his lance and wiped the blood off of it. "You all right there, Priscilla?" he asked.  
No reply. Heath turned around, worrying she might have fallen, but she hadn't. She had just fainted.  
Heath chuckled. "I spoke too soon, I guess," he said to himself, before flying back to camp to let Priscilla rest.  
  
The battle had long since ended by the time Priscilla awoke. Heath had carried her back to their tent and laid her on the bed.  
As she awoke, Heath asked, "You back with us now?"  
"Yes," she replied. "What happened?"  
"You passed out when I attacked that bandit," he replied. "Why did you faint? We weren't flying that high."  
"Oh," she said, her face reddening, "well...as a healer, I do not like the sight of blood. Normally I would not have fainted as I did—I was probably just still recovering from flying so high."  
"I see," Heath said. "Look, I'm sorry I flew so high before. I...should've asked you first."  
"There's no need to apologize, Heath," Priscilla said, sitting up. "I actually thought it was...quite exhilarating."  
"Exhilarating enough to make you pass out?" Heath teased her.  
Priscilla put a mock expression of hurt on her face. "Heath, you're so cruel," she said playfully.  
Heath laughed a bit. "Fine, fine. But...do you think you want to try flying again later?" he asked. "If you don't want to...that's fine with me."  
Priscilla got off the bed and stood up. "Well...I would certainly like to try again," she replied. She got up and opened the flap of the tent, only to find that it was nighttime. "Was I out for that long?" she asked, somewhat surprised.  
"Yeah," Heath replied. "I was worried something might have happened to you."  
"Heath, I'm touched," she said jokingly, "You _do_ worry about me." She laughed.  
Heath laughed with her. "Well...you were unconscious for quite some time. Eliwood and the others only just came back. I think they found whatever it was they were looking for."  
"What were they looking for?" she asked.  
"They said they found one of the eight legendary warriors who fought in the Scouring," Heath said. "I don't believe it though—he'd have to be over a thousand years old."  
"Well, he _is_ legendary, you never know," Priscilla said.  
"Maybe. But now we have to go alllllll the way back and go to Bern. I don't know about you, but this whole thing seems like a wild goose chase."  
"It is _not_," Priscilla said, slightly angry.  
"How do you know?" Heath asked.  
"Heath—I was there, at the Dragon's Gate. It was...terrible. A dragon nearly made it through the portal. I have never seen something so...so powerful. I do not wish to think of what might happen...if Nergal actually allows dragons into this world." Her face was becoming more fearful and angry by the second. "You weren't there...you don't know..."  
Heath's expression became grave. "I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to make you angry. You're right—I don't know what it would be like. And I don't want to find out."  
Priscilla stared at him silently.  
"Are you all right now?" Heath asked.  
"No," she said, "but I don't think I will be until this is all over."  
"Priscilla...you shouldn't think about this. I know that seeing a dragon was terrible, whether or not I saw it myself. But if you keep thinking about it you're going to drive yourself crazy. You should...just let go of it for now."  
Priscilla took a deep breath. "All...all right. I'll...try to stop thinking about it. Thank you, Heath."  
Heath just smiled at her.  
Priscilla returned to her bed and lay down.  
"Are you going to sleep?" Heath asked.  
"Yes," she replied. "But I...I am afraid...that I will have nightmares about..."  
"You'll only have nightmares if you keep thinking about it. Just...clear your head. Think about something else. Like...flying." Heath smirked.  
Priscilla laughed. "Thanks, Heath. Now I'm going to have nightmares about falling instead of...no. I'm not going to talk about it anymore. Heath...thank you."  
Heath smiled. "You're welcome," he said. "Good night, Priscilla."  
"Good night, Heath."  
  


***  
  


Hehe...how was that chapter? A bit long, I know, but there's no helping that.  
Please review!  
  
-TheOneAndOnlyT  



	4. Friends

More responses to reviewers! More!  
  
Millenium Slinky: Maybe she would, but this is my story :P  
Also why do you keep saying "snark," and what exactly does it mean?  
  
khmerboi919: Raven > Guy. Enough said.  
No, I'm not going to put everyone in, but I'll introduce new characters from time to time. And if you want more action, I put some in this chapter.  
  
kf: Fixed.  
  
Gyrfalcon: Long chapters are better? Good, this one's even longer than the last. :P  
  
On with the story...  
  
**

Chapter Four  
Friends  
  


** "Heath..."  
Priscilla was rousing him. "Mmmf. Are we leaving already?" he mumbled, then fell asleep again.  
"Heath...wake up...please wake up..."  
Heath noticed that Priscilla's voice was broken as though she had been crying. He quickly sat up, a look of concern spreading over his face. One look at her confirmed it—her eyes were red, and tears were still streaming down her cheeks. On her face was an expression of terror. "Priscilla? What happened?" he asked.  
"I...I..." She was unable to speak as she continued to sob.  
"Are you all right?"  
She shook her head.  
"What...what's going on?"  
She suddenly flung her arms around him and began to sob into his shoulder. "Heath...i-it was...terrible..."  
"What was? What happened, Priscilla?"  
"A...n-nightmare...b-but...so real..."  
Heath placed his arms around her, trying to comfort her. "Priscilla...it's all right now. Nothing can hurt you here."  
"I-I know," she replied. "B-but...it w-was...so t-terrifying..."  
"What happened?" he asked.  
She took a deep, shuddering breath and let go of him, sitting down on the bed next to him. She took another deep breath. "I-I was at...the Dragon's Gate. I...I saw the dragon c-come out of the p-portal...b-but it didn't stop...it came all the w-way through..."  
"Priscilla...you have to stop thin—"  
"Th-that's not all," she interrupted him. "The d-dragon...was going to b-breathe fire at me...b-but...y-you came..."  
Heath's eyes widened. "_I_ came? What happened next?"  
"Y-you pushed me o-out of the way, a-and st-stood in my p-place...and...and..."  
Priscilla didn't need to tell him what happened afterward. "Did you wake up then?"  
"Y-yes...everything became white...and I woke up. Heath...it was so frightening..."  
Heath placed a hand on her shoulder. "Priscilla...it's okay now. It was just a nightmare..."  
"I...I know," she said, sniffing. "But...it was so vivid...so...so real..."  
"Even so," Heath said, "it was still a dream, and it can't hurt you. I know it scared you, but...you're safe, Priscilla."  
"Heath," she said, wiping her eyes, "I-I don't know if that's true—"  
"I do. I'll make sure nothing hurts you, and—" he smiled slightly, "—if that ever does happen, I'll make sure to get out of the way as well."  
Priscilla made a noise somewhere between a laugh and a sob. "Heath," she said, smiling slightly through her tears, "even at a time like this you can make me laugh."  
"Well," he said, his smile growing larger, "isn't that what friends do for each other?"  
"I suppose," she said as she wiped her eyes again and stopped crying. "Thank you, Heath."  
"Any time, Priscilla. You probably want to get back to bed now—remember, think about flying."  
She laughed. "I will."  
  
The next few days, spent traveling to Bern, passed much as they had before they had reached the desert. It was on one of those days that Heath flew down to Priscilla.  
"Priscilla," he said, as he flew alongside her.  
"Yes? What is it?"  
"Well...do you want to try flying now?" He smiled.  
She smiled back nervously. "Well...I suppose...but I can't just leave my horse here..."  
"Then ask someone else if they want a ride—it'll do them good if they've been walking this whole time."  
She thought about this for a moment, then called to a man walking near her, "Raven!"  
The man walked over to her. The first thing Heath noticed about him was that he looked like someone he didn't want to mess with. He had dark reddish-brown hair, and piercing eyes of the same color. He was about the same height as Heath, wearing little armor in favor of a heavy blue shirt and pants. A large broadsword was strapped to his back.   
"What is it?" Raven asked, in a gruff voice.  
"Well...Heath here asked me to ride with him...so that means someone can ride my horse. Do you want to?"  
Raven looked suspiciously at Heath, then back at Priscilla, putting two and two together. "Priscilla," he said, "are you sure you want to ride with him? Wyverns are dangerous creatures—"  
Hyperion growled at Raven, but that only furthered his point.  
"—and you could fall as well."  
"That won't happen," Heath said.  
"Yes," Priscilla added, "Heath will make sure I am safe."  
"Very well," Raven said, and Heath could have sworn he sounded a bit disappointed. "I will ride your horse if you will let me."  
Priscilla smiled. "Thank you, Raven," she said as she got off her horse and onto Hyperion, holding onto Heath. "Heath...please don't go too high this time."  
Heath smiled. "Okay." He directed Hyperion upwards, until they were a good ten feet above the group. "Is this all right?"  
"Yes," she said, although Heath could see she was quite nervous.  
"Just don't look down," Heath advised her.  
"I-I'm trying not to," she said, "but it is a rather amazing sight. I've never been able to ride a flying animal before now—besides that time in the desert, but..."  
"You were too scared to look then?" Heath teased.  
Priscilla laughed. "I suppose I was," she replied, sighing with slight embarrassment. "Now though...I can't believe this is happening."  
Heath smiled. "It is pretty amazing, isn't it?"  
"It is," she replied. "I should have tried flying earlier. This isn't so bad."  
"Of course it isn't," Heath said, faking disappointment. "Why do you think I asked you to ride with me?" He put his hand to his heart in an exaggerated melodramatic way. "Don't you trust me, Priscilla?" he asked sarcastically.  
Priscilla just laughed.  
"That hurts, Priscilla," he said, continuing with his sarcasm. "It really does."  
Priscilla laughed harder.  
"Heath," she said after she had calmed down, "how do you always have something funny to say?"  
"It's because I've spent my life with a wyvern," he replied jokingly. "They make you go crazy."  
Priscilla laughed again as Heath smiled at her.  
After she stopped laughing, she looked down again. Heath saw her face pale as she looked at the height they were at, but she tried her best to hide it. "It's amazing," she said finally. "Everyone looks tiny from here."  
Heath looked down with her, scanning the group. At the front were the three lords and Mark, their faces turned toward one another as they talked. He could see Serra talking away even at this height, as she moved her hands in exaggerated gestures as she spoke. Sain seemed to be moving around, stopping at one of the women of the group, then leaving a few seconds later to find another one. Meanwhile another, red-haired cavalier was following Sain, and seemed to be reprimanding him for what he was doing. Finally his eyes settled on Priscilla's horse, and the man riding it.  
He was only mildly surprised when he noticed Raven was staring up at him. Mistrust was etched all over his face. Obviously, he did not want Priscilla with him, for reasons Heath could not surmise. He could only barely see it, but Heath thought he saw Raven's eyes narrow as he noticed Heath looking down at him.  
"Priscilla," Heath said, "why does Raven seem so worried about you?"  
Heath saw her face pale. "Are you all right?" he continued.  
"Yes, I'm fine," she replied. "Raven is—" she seemed to be considering what to say, "—a...childhood friend of mine. We hadn't seen each other for a long time before this journey."  
"I see," Heath said. Although he could tell Priscilla was lying, he didn't press the matter further, as she didn't seem to want to talk about it. "Want to go higher?" he asked, changing the subject.  
Whatever color had returned to Priscilla's cheeks quickly left it. "I...I don't know," she replied. "Not...not now. I am content up here. It's so nice...I don't have to listen to everyone talking. I must try this again." She smiled at him. "Thanks for taking me up here, Heath."  
Heath placed his hand on her shoulder. "Any time, Priscilla. I must say, you seem a lot less scared of the height we're at than I thought you would be."  
She didn't reply, just continued to smile at him.  
  
Heath continued to let Priscilla ride with him, despite the glares he was getting from Raven. Soon their group arrived in Bern, the lords dressing as travelers as to not attract attention.  
They stopped one night in a town on a lake. Somehow, though, the group found themselves under attack there from a mercenary group. Their leader was apparently one of the dreaded Four Fangs, Linus. Heath went to Mark to ask what he should do in the battle.  
"Okay," Mark said to him. "Look above the lake over there."  
Heath did so. "Wyvern riders?" he asked.  
"Exactly. I need you to take them out before they can get to the rest of our soldiers traveling along the lake."  
"On it."  
Heath immediately took flight, soaring as high as he could go. He could see below him three knights on red-skinned wyverns.  
The wyvern riders above the lake were meant to act as scouts, and they were focused on the beach of the lake, where Eliwood's group was traveling. They never thought to look _up.  
_ Heath pointed Hyperion straight down and shot like a bullet towards one of the riders. He didn't notice Heath until it was too late, and Hyperion crashed into him while Heath plunged his lance into the rider's mount. The rider fell to the lake below, screaming.  
The other two riders quickly turned after hearing their companion scream. Heath was able to fly straight upwards and attack the second rider, sending him down as well. The last rider, however, would not go down without a fight. Raising his lance, he charged straight at Heath.  
_So inexperienced_. Heath waited until the last possible second before swerving out of the way and stabbing the passing wyvern with his lance. The last rider fell.  
Heath smiled triumphantly before he heard the roar of another wyvern. _Okay, one more inexperienced rider to take out_. Heath turned around...  
...and stared at a wyvern larger than Hyperion flying straight at him. The knight riding him was carrying a sword in addition to a lance, and Heath gasped—only the elite Wyvern Lords were trained in airborne sword fighting. Heath swerved out of the way again, but the Wyvern Lord did not make the same mistake as the previous rider. Instead of flying straight past Heath, the wyvern turned to the side and looped around so that he was facing Heath, and charged again.  
As the Wyvern Lord came again, he raised his sword. This time Heath did not swerve out of the way—instead, he held up his lance sideways with both hands to parry any incoming attack. But the Wyvern Lord wasn't stupid. He raised his sword as if to strike, and Heath, thinking an attack was coming, raised his lance to block the blow. But it didn't come until the Wyvern Lord suddenly lowered his sword and sliced, under Heath's lance, into his left side.  
Heath cried out in pain. He had no armor on his sides, as he never expected to fight a sword-bearing rider. Although the wound was not deep, it was not shallow either. Heath would have to end this quick and get to a healer—but he only had one chance.  
Taking his lance in one hand again, he watched the Wyvern Lord loop around and come for him again, while clutching his side with his left hand. As the Wyvern Lord came, Heath swerved out of the way, and as expected the Wyvern Lord looped to the side, away from Heath's lance—or so he thought.  
Raising his lance, Heath suddenly hurled it as hard as he could. The lance stuck itself in the retreating wyvern's belly, and the Wyvern Lord fell.  
Still clutching his side, Heath directed Hyperion towards the shore of the lake, to Priscilla. She didn't even need to ask what was going on; she just raised her healing staff and closed her eyes. A warm white light suddenly shone from the sapphire on the staff's tip, and the healing energy moved from the staff to Heath's body. He closed his eyes as he felt the pain in his side going away. When he opened his eyes again, it was as if nothing had happened.  
"Thanks, Priscilla," he said.  
Priscilla just smiled at him.  
Of course, now Heath had no weapon—but he had done his job. He retreated back to the camp, where he found a purple-haired horse rider guarding a tent.  
"Ah, Heath," the rider said. "My name is Marcus. I saw your battle in the air just a moment ago. You truly are a great fighter."  
"Thanks, Mar—"  
Heath was suddenly cut off by a loud snore. Looking to the tent Marcus was guarding, he saw a blue-green haired man with a mustache lying on the ground, asleep.  
"Merlinus!" Marcus yelled. "You can't be sleeping in the middle of a fight! What if someone attacked?"  
Merlinus got up and yawned. "Sorry, Marcus. But sitting here is just so boring...I need a wagon for this tent."  
Heath gave Merlinus an inquisitive look.  
"Oh, you're our new recruit, huh? My name is Merlinus, and I carry the spare items for this army."  
"Pleased to meet you, Merlinus. I'm Heath. Happen to have a lance in there?"  
"Of course!" Merlinus shouted gleefully. He went into the tent, and after rummaging around for awhile he came out with a lance. Heath looked at it—it didn't look like an ordinary lance. It shone as though it were made of—  
"Silver," Merlinus explained. "This lance is exceedingly powerful, although it is a bit fragile. Go on, take it."  
Heath took the gleaming lance, staring at it in awe.  
"I _knew_ it was a good idea to get one of those!" Merlinus shouted.  
Heath laughed at the merchant's exuberance.  
"Heath!"  
Heath turned around to see Priscilla riding towards him. "Priscilla," Heath said, "why aren't you out there with the army?"  
"Serra's taking care of it," Priscilla explained, with a worried look in her eyes. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay—that wound was pretty deep."  
"I'm fine, thanks to you. Do you really doubt your own healing abilities?"  
"No...I...I was just worried..."  
"Well, I'm fine." Heath smiled at her. "You might want to get back. I know you're worried about me...but your duty is to help the entire army, not just me."  
"Okay," Priscilla said, relieved. She started to ride back to Eliwood's group, but they were already coming back. They had won, and everyone was in a good mood.  
  
The fact that Priscilla was so worried about him nagged at him all day. It wasn't until they returned to their tent that Heath was finally able to talk to her.  
"Priscilla," he said as he sat on his bed, "why were you so worried about me earlier today?"  
"What do you mean?" she asked.  
"I mean, why are you worried about me over everyone else?"  
"I wasn't," she said, her face paling. "You j-just had a deep wound..."  
"Priscilla, you healed that. Why are you so worried about a wound that's already healed?"  
"Because...because..." She was unable to keep going.  
"Because what?" Heath helped her.  
"Because...Heath...I don't want to lose you."  
_That_ surprised him. "What?" he asked.  
"Heath...you've been...a great friend to me...I don't want you to leave me..."  
Heath walked over to her bed and sat down beside her. "Really?"  
"Yes...Heath...you're the best friend I've ever had. Nobody else can make me laugh like you do...and nobody else will take me flying..."  
Heath placed his hand on her shoulder. "Priscilla...you don't have to worry so much about me. I know that you think of me as your best friend...and I think of you as my best friend too."  
Priscilla's face suddenly brightened.  
"But...I can take care of myself. You don't have to worry that I'm going to leave you if you don't help out. I don't plan to leave this army anytime soon, and I'm not planning to die anytime soon either."  
"Heath...you promise me you won't leave?"  
"I promise. Who else am I going to take flying with me?"  
Priscilla giggled. "Good point," she said. "Thanks, Heath."  
"Anything to help out my best friend," he said, playfully exaggerating the last words.  
She laughed. "Heath...what would I do without you here?"  
Heath smiled at her. "You'd stay on the ground."  
She laughed again. "Well, I'm going to sleep. Good night, Heath."  
"Good night, Priscilla."  
  


***  
  


Whoo! Long chapter there. Lots o' fluff, too...but it's not quite time for the romance yet. What do you guys think of this one?  
Also please don't expect updates as often for the next week or so. Mid-year exams are coming up. If I live, I'll try to have the next chapter up by next weekend, but I can't guarantee anything.  
  
Please review!!!  
-TheOneAndOnlyT  



	5. Confrontations

Well, I thought I was going to have to wait to put this chapter up, but thanks to the cold (negative 10 degrees, yay for New England weather) they cancelled school and ended up pushing mid-years back a day. That means I got another day to work on this story!  
  
Nobody seems to have any comments I can reply to this chapter, so...  
  
Oh yeah, you'll notice Raven says some weird stuff about him and Priscilla in this chapter. Remember that he's trying to keep the fact that they're siblings secret...  
  
One other warning: slight support conversation spoilers in this chapter.  
  
**

Chapter Five  
Confrontations  


**  
"Heath."  
Heath jumped. The group had now made it to Bern Castle to see if the royal family would help Eliwood and his group with their quest to find the Shrine of Seals. Heath and the rest of the group were waiting outside some distance away from the castle. Heath stayed away from the group, very nervous, as there were many wyvern riders making patrols on the castle, and he was worried someone might recognize him.   
He was surprised when he turned around to find Raven glaring at him.  
"What is it?" Heath asked.  
Raven didn't waste any time. "What the _hell_ do you think you've been doing, taking Priscilla away from me?" he said angrily.  
The question caught him off guard. Heath knew Raven didn't want Priscilla with him, but he didn't think Raven cared so much about it. "Taking her away from you? I'm not—"  
"Yes you are! You two have been spending so much time alone together it sickens me!"  
"How am I 'taking her away from you'? What, is she _supposed_ to be with you at all times?"  
"She doesn't deserve someone like _you_," Raven spat.  
_He thinks we're more than just friends?_ he wondered. "Since when do you think there's something going on between us?"  
Raven's eyes lost some of their fire. "What? You mean—you aren't—"  
"We're not in love with each other, if that's what you're thinking."  
The fire in Raven's eyes returned. "I don't want you around her anymore then."  
"What? Why not?"  
"I told you. She doesn't deserve someone like you."  
"And I suppose she deserves someone like _you_, huh?" Heath said, growing angry. "Why the hell do you care so much about this anyway?"  
"Because I am _not_ going to have Priscilla run off with some..._fugitive!_"  
"And why do you care so much about what happens to her?"  
Raven exploded. "Because I _love_ her, that's why! I don't want her to end up with some _idiot_ who thinks he can take her away from—"  
"I am _not_ taking her away from you!" Heath shouted. "_She_ wants to come with _me!_ And since when was she _with_ you, huh? When she told me you two were old friends I didn't think she meant you used to have a relationship!"  
Raven looked as though he was about to tell Heath they had never had a relationship, but he quickly stopped himself. "Well, we did, and—"  
"_Did_ is the key word there!" Heath interrupted him. "You _used to_ have a relationship! You don't anymore! What, did she break up with you and you can't get over it?"  
Raven's eyes narrowed to slits. "Listen, Heath. You—are—to—stay—away—from—Priscilla. If I see you near her again, I'll—"  
"_What'll you do, huh?_ In case you've forgotten, if you hurt me, Priscilla will be mad at _you!_"  
"That doesn't matter! Priscilla needs—"  
"_IT SHOULD MATTER TO YOU!_" It was Heath's turn to explode now. "If you love her as much as you say you do, why don't you take _her_ feelings into account?!"  
"I'm doing what's best for her!"  
"What's _best_ for her is that you stop interfering in her life! If she wants to be friends with me I don't see why _you_ or _anyone_ else has the authority to tell her she can't!"  
Raven was about to reply, but he was suddenly cut off by a scream from the group. It sounded like a young boy. Raven's eyes widened. "Nils!" With one last glare at Heath with murder in his eyes, he ran back to the rest of the army.  
Heath quickly followed.  
  
When he got there, he was not prepared for what he saw.  
A light-green-haired boy was being held captive by a tall blond woman. She had a scar down her left cheek—Heath recognized her. She had trained him...  
"_Vaida!_"  
Vaida looked up, then glared at Heath. "So," she said, her voice strangely low, "you've decided to join with this little group, huh?"  
"What the _hell_ are you doing with that boy?!"  
"Don't you remember your original objective, idiot?! _You_ were supposed to capture this boy!"  
The boy looked at Heath in shock. "You joined this group...to capture—"  
"No!" Heath cut him off. "I _left_ the Bern army because of what they were doing to children like you!" He turned to Vaida. "Vaida, let him go!"  
"Where are the leaders of this group?" she asked, but the three lords were already running back from the castle.  
"What are you doing with Nils?" Eliwood asked.  
"Well," Vaida said, "You want to protect this boy?"  
"Let him go, or I'll rip your throat out!" Hector shouted.  
Vaida smirked devilishly, and let Nils go. "I've been looking for someone to test my strength against," she said.  
"You plan to take on all of us?" Eliwood asked.  
"Of course not. Come on out, everyone!"  
Several wyvern riders flew in from the castle, while cavaliers and mages came from the villages near it.  
"_If_ you survive, I'll consider letting you keep the boy," Vaida said, before mounting her own wyvern and flying off.  
The army was in for a tough battle...  
  
Heath swerved out of the way as another wyvern rider came for him, and plunged his new silver lance into its side. So far, he hadn't sustained any injuries besides small cuts and bruises. Many of the wyvern riders were unused to fighting, as they were meant to defend the castle and very few had been in an actual fight before.  
Heath saw a mage on the ground trying to cast a spell, and he quickly flew down and thrust his lance into him. There were very few soldiers left, only a few wyvern riders and Vaida. Heath was about to fly to where Vaida was when a voice stopped him.  
"Heath!"  
Heath turned around. It was Nils.  
"You cannot attack her! She is being powered by Nergal!"  
"Isn't that more reason to attack her?" Heath asked.  
"No! Nergal is making her more powerful—you can't hope to defeat her!"  
Heath looked off in the distance, to where Vaida and two other wyvern riders were hovering. "She looks the same to me..."  
"Don't attack her! Now that we've beaten most of her army she'll probably retreat and lead us to wherever Nergal is!"  
Sure enough, after a short while, Vaida retreated, as she had no hope of taking on the entire group alone. Several of her soldiers retreated with her.  
Lyndis, with her superior tracking skills, decided to follow them to wherever they were hiding. The rest of the army followed close behind, but Lyndis moved quickly, as the soldiers had not thought to cover their path. After following the tracks for some time, Lyndis and Eliwood decided it was time to set up camp and rest.  
  
Heath lay on his bed, thinking about his confrontation with Raven earlier that day.  
_She doesn't deserve someone like you...  
_ Did they really spend that much time alone together? Enough to make Raven think they were in love?  
_You are to stay away from Priscilla...  
_ How could he do that? Priscilla would be heartbroken...  
Heath suddenly had a thought. Priscilla didn't want to him to leave...was she in love with _him?  
_ It made sense, he thought. Priscilla looked to him for comfort, she called him her best friend, and she was so worried that Heath might leave her...  
Was _that_ why Raven thought they were in love? Because Priscilla was in love with him?  
An even bigger question formed in his mind: was he in love with _her?_ He did think she was a very nice girl, and she was his best friend, but..._love?  
_ Heath's train of thought was cut off as Priscilla came into the tent.  
"Heath," she said, with a worried look in her eyes, "you weren't injured in the battle today, were you?"  
"Not really," Heath replied. "A couple bruises and scratches won't kill me. It's like my former captain used to say: 'If you can feel the pain, you're not badly wounded.'"  
"Really?"  
"Yeah. He was a great man...he once charged the enemy archers so they'd shoot him instead of us. He kept going even after he got shot in the shoulder..."  
Priscilla's face paled.  
"Sorry," Heath said. "You probably didn't want to hear that."  
"No, it's all right," she said. "Heath, please still allow me to heal you...even if it is just cuts and bruises."  
There was that worry for him again, he thought. He smiled at her. "Go ahead."  
She raised her staff, and again Heath felt the healing energies course through him. All of the pain in his body disappeared as the healing light surrounded him.  
"Thanks," Heath said. "Even if I wasn't really hurt—that still felt good."  
The worried look stayed in Priscilla's eyes. "Heath," she said, "there's something I need to ask you."  
"What is it?"  
"Please...please come to me for healing even if you aren't really hurt. Don't just assume it will be fine..."  
Once again Heath remarked at her worry for him. "All right," he said, smiling. "I will."  
"Do you promise?"  
"Yes, I promise."  
"Thank you, Heath," she said, and went to her bed.  
Heath then remembered his confrontation with Raven. "Wait," he said. "There's something I need to ask you as well."  
"Yes?"  
"Why didn't you tell me that you used to be in love with Raven?"  
A confused look came over Priscilla's face. "What are you talking about?"  
Heath was confused as well. "Raven talked to me earlier today," Heath explained. "He says...he doesn't want me around you."  
Priscilla's confusion was replaced by slight anger. "Did he say why?"  
"He says...you don't deserve someone like me. Do you know why he's so angry about this? He said you two used to have a relationship, but now you're saying you never did..."  
"We never had a relationship," Priscilla stated flatly. "He's—" Suddenly realization came over her face. "—never mind."  
"What is it?"  
"It's nothing. Forget it."  
_She really doesn't seem to like talking about Raven_, Heath thought.  
"Would you believe he thought we were in love?" he asked, laughing.  
Priscilla's face suddenly seemed saddened, but she tried to laugh. "That _is_ strange," she said, and Heath noticed she seemed a bit downhearted. "We're just best friends, aren't we?" She looked at him as though she were pleading with him to say no.  
Heath realized then that she definitely was in love with him. He didn't want to disappoint her, but some part of his mind told him they were still just friends. "Well, what do you think?" he said, trying to get out of the situation.  
She seemed to be considering what to say. "I think...yes, we are just best friends." She smiled at him, but Heath could see it was taking her some effort. "I'm tired," she continued. "I'm going to sleep. Good night, Heath."  
"Good night, Priscilla."  
Heath lay back down on his bed. First Raven wanted to kill him, now he realized Priscilla was in love with him...  
How did he get himself into this mess?  
  


***  


  
Another long chapter :D  
For all of those in doubt, yes, Heath will end up in love with Priscilla, but you'll have to wait a couple more chapters for that :P  
As for me, I have to get back to studying for mid-years *grumble grumble*  
  
Please review!!!  
-TheOneAndOnlyT  



	6. Further Evidence

Oh God...alright, for those of you who haven't taken US history in high school yet, do yourself a favor and do NOT take it AP level. That was the hardest mid-year EVER...  
  
As you might have noticed, this story's genre has been changed again. I really don't know what it should be...any suggestions?  
  
Responses to reviewers!  
  
khmerboi919: Heath will not become a Wyvern Lord, as it's sort of hard to instantly learn how to use a sword in the air. That doesn't mean he won't kick ass though. :P  
  
DrillingPlanet: Thanks for the review!  
  
bladegryphon: Wouldn't expect anything less from me? Wow, that's probably the best compliment I've ever been given on this site. Thanks!  
  
Anonymous: I'd probably find that funny if I knew who Oscar Proud was. :P  
  
Millenium Slinky: Karel's a "snoot"? I'm not even gonna ask about that one...  
O_o You live in MA too? Where?  
And of _course_ Heath is in love with Priscilla, he just has yet to realize his feelings! Don't worry, that will come soon...  
  
KingKazul400: Yeah I know...everywhere I look people seem to be pairing Heath and Priscilla (especially Priscilla) with other people. But if you think about it, they go together rather nicely. And their A support conversation beats the hell out of all the others.  
Also, congrats on being the first signed reviewer who's actually a guy, or at least the first who says so in his profile. More guys need to read this...come ON guys, how many times do you see a guy write a decent romantic story?   
On second thought, none of them care... -_-  
  
With that depressing thought in mind, let's continue...  
  
**

Chapter Six  
Further Evidence  
  


** "Heath!"  
Heath heard Priscilla's excited squeal as she ran into the tent. The group had been traveling for two days now, and still the trail had continued. They had stopped to rest once again, as it was getting colder as they went up into the mountains. Some snow had even started falling.  
"What is it, Priscilla?" Heath asked, noting her excitement.  
"Look!"  
She closed her eyes, held her hand out in front of her, and muttered a few incoherent words. Heath watched in awe as her hand glowed green, then as suddenly a small flame appeared above it.  
She opened her eyes, and the flame disappeared. "I did it, Heath! I learned how to use anima magic!"  
"That's great!" Heath said, eyes still wide from seeing what she had done.  
Priscilla giggled, looking for all the world like a little girl who has just received a new doll.  
"Now I can help you out!" she said brightly. "I can come with you!"  
Heath smiled at her. He silently wondered if she was referring to the entire army...or just him...  
  
_I think she's starting to grow on me.  
_ The army had finally found the Black Fang stronghold, and were preparing to strike. The three lords were trying to sneak around and find any information that they could without fighting.  
The rest of the army waited for their return, which left Heath some time to think about what was going on.  
_She loves me...but do I love her?  
_ _We're just friends...  
No we aren't. We're more than just friends...but we're not in love...are we?  
Maybe I do l—  
_ "Heath! You there?"  
Heath snapped out of his reverie as Hector called him. The lords had come back. "Yeah...I'm here."  
"Good. We need to get the hell out of—"  
There was a flash, and suddenly a brown-haired man with red robes and a silver staff appeared out of nowhere. He had a malevolent smirk on his face.  
"You," Eliwood said, noticing the man's appearance, "you're a holy man. What are you doing with these rogues?"  
The man laughed. "Holy? Are you referring to my relationship with the 'gods'? Because if you are, I serve the one and only god of this world: Lord Nergal."  
"You _fool!_" Hector suddenly swiped at the man with his axe, but it passed through thin air as the bishop suddenly disappeared and reappeared a few feet away.  
"Since you seem so eager, why don't we have a little fun? Let's see how well you handle the soldiers in our fortress..."  
With a flash, he was gone.  
"We don't have time for this!" Hector shouted. "We need to get to Bern Castle as fast as possible! Come on!"  
"We can't!" Canas shouted from the back of the group. "There's a magical barrier here—we can't leave!"  
Hector groaned. "FINE! Then let's just get this over with and get over to Bern Castle!"  
"What's going on?" Heath asked Eliwood. "Why do we need to get to Bern Castle?"  
"We heard a plot," Eliwood explained. "The Black Fang intends to assassinate Bern's crown prince soon. We have to stop them."  
"Why does that concern us?"  
"If we help Bern's royal family, they will point us to the Shrine of Seals. This is a prime opportunity to help them. Now come on, let's clean out this fortress and get out of here."  
  
Heath plunged his lance into another monk. There certainly were a lot of them here...  
He looked around for any other enemies. He saw Eliwood battling another monk, while Lyndis had her hands full trying to dodge several arrows from a sniper. Heath watched in awe as he saw Canas raise his hands and completely envelop a mage in a black cloud.  
And then he saw Priscilla.  
She was watching him from afar, seemingly unaware of the other battles going on. When she noticed Heath looking at her, however, she quickly looked away.  
_She really is in love with me...  
_ "AH!"  
Heath shouted in pain as a light magic spell tore into him, straight through his armor.  
_I need to stop thinking about her during battles...  
_ Priscilla had seen Heath's injury and was by his side in an instant. She said nothing, she just raised her staff and let the healing energies mend his wounds. She glanced at him to make sure he was all right, then shot a furious glare at the monk that had harmed him. Another moment later, the monk erupted in flames as Priscilla sent her new anima magic at him.  
"Heath," she said once the monk was gone, "are you all right?"  
"I'm fine now. Thanks, Priscilla."  
Priscilla's cheeks turned slightly pink, and she smiled at him before riding off to help the other soldiers.  
Heath smiled at her retreating figure.  
_She thinks I don't know, doesn't she?  
  
_ Heath watched as Lyndis's swift sword cut through the bishop, and he fell.  
"Come on, everyone! We need to get back to Bern Castle!" Hector shouted.  
The army quickly retreated back the way they came, hoping they could make it to Bern Castle in time...  
  
Heath looked down at Priscilla while the army traveled to reach Bern Castle.  
_Why can't I stop thinking about her?  
_ Now that he knew Priscilla was in love with him, she was the only thing on his mind. His injury from the monk was proof of that; even during a battle he couldn't concentrate.  
_Is something wrong with me?  
_ He didn't understand. Usually during a battle he was calm and collected. Now, though...  
He looked down at her again, and he suddenly had a thought.  
_Am I falling in love with **her**?  
  
_

***  
  


Heath's finally realizing his feelings! That means no more annoying comments about the lack of romance so far *cough*  
This chapter was a bit short, I know, but I've got big ideas for the next chapter, and it's important. Thankfully now that mid-years are over I have more time to write, so expect me to get back to my usual rate of updating soon. That is, after I sleep all weekend since I studied all week...  
  
Please review!!!  
-TheOneAndOnlyT  



	7. Savior

Ahhh, it's good to be back to my usual rate of updating. That, and the fact that I actually got some sleep.  
  
More responses to reviews! More!  
  
Millenium Slinky: I don't like the Rath/Lyn A conversation because Rath doesn't seem to acknowledge anything Lyn is saying. It seems more like Lyn has a crush on him than the two are in love with each other. But hey, that's just me.  
Same problem with me, I made Priscilla a Valkyrie on the second to last chapter because of that extra Earth Seal the game gives you...and she couldn't use any good spells. Oh well.  
  
khmerboi919: Thanks for the review!  
  
KingKazul400: AHHHH HOW did you find AP US history easy?! *fuming* I hate you.  
And of course I'm twisting the game script around. This story would be rather boring if I didn't :P  
  
Phoenix Dagger: Well, actually, my normal rate for updating is every 1-2 days; I just had mid-year exams this week. Expect faster updates from now on. I'm sure that will make you happy :)  
  
**

Chapter Seven  
Savior  
  


** "Heath."  
Heath lay on his bed in the tent, resting after a long day of traveling. The group was close to Bern Castle now, and Heath realized he might have to stay up the next night to prevent the assassination. He still was unable to stop thinking about Priscilla, much to his disappointment. Even if he tried to think about something else he still ended up thinking about her...  
"Heath? Are you awake?" Priscilla's voice brought him out of his thoughts.  
"What? Oh, yeah, I am." Heath replied. He sat up. "What is it?"  
"Well," she said, looking away from him nervously, "I was wondering if...tomorrow...you could let me ride with you again. We—I haven't flown with you...in some time." She looked up at him, her face pink. "I-if you do not mind, that is..."  
Heath smiled at her. "Actually, I wanted to ask _you_ if you wanted to come flying with me again."  
"So...you do not mind?"  
"Of course not. Why would I?"  
Priscilla smiled. "Thank you, Heath."  
  
Raven, however, was not happy with this idea. When Priscilla asked him if he wanted to ride her horse, Raven refused.  
"What?" Priscilla asked him. "Why not?"  
"Because I already told _him_—" he gestured at Heath, flying by Priscilla, "—that he is to stay away from you."  
"And I told _you_ that I don't care what you think," Heath retorted. "Besides, isn't it her decision?"  
Raven looked at Priscilla.  
"I want to go with him," she said, a trace of annoyance in her voice.  
Raven thought for a moment, then said, "I am not riding your horse then."  
Priscilla glared at him, but Heath simply chuckled and said, "Your loss. Why don't you just ask someone else, Priscilla?"  
"I think I will," she said as she directed her horse to another person in the group. Heath smirked triumphantly at Raven, who glared at him with loathing.  
Moments later, Priscilla came back, now on her feet. Riding her horse was a long-blond-haired man wearing light blue robes.  
Raven looked at the man in shock. "Lucius, what the _hell_ do you think you're doing?"  
Lucius gave Raven an innocent look. "Priscilla asked me if I wanted to ride her horse. I _have_ been walking for some time; I could use a rest."  
Raven said something in reply, but Heath didn't hear him. Priscilla had already climbed onto Hyperion and they had flown off into the clear day's sky. Heath quickly ascended until he was again ten feet above the group, then stopped and looked at Priscilla.  
"What is _wrong_ with him?" he asked her.  
"What do you mean?"  
"Why is he so...well, against me?"  
Priscilla looked away from him. "I...I don't want to talk about it."  
"Priscilla," he said, "why don't you ever want to talk about Raven?"  
"I can't," she said simply. "Please, can we stop talking about this?"  
"All right," he replied, but he still wondered why she couldn't talk about him.  
  
They flew in silence for some time, until Priscilla asked, "Heath?"  
Heath looked back at her and replied, "What is it?"  
"I...I want to try going higher."  
Heath grinned at her. "You sure?"  
"I...think so..."  
"Well, okay. Tell me when you want to stop," he said, and directed Hyperion slowly upwards.  
He felt Priscilla's hands dig into his shoulders as he ascended, but she said nothing.  
"Remember, don't look down," Heath told her.  
"I-It's hard not to," she said weakly.  
Hyperion continued to rise.  
They were at least fifty feet above the army when Priscilla told him to stop.  
Heath looked back at her and smiled. "You're definitely getting over your fear of heights," he said. "I thought you'd tell me to stop long before now."  
Priscilla smiled weakly at him. She was trembling. "I-I'm afraid...I'm g-going to fall..."  
"You won't," Heath reassured her. "Just hold on tight."  
Priscilla moved her hands from his shoulders to around his waist, and held on tightly.  
"Not _that_ tight," Heath said, his voice a bit strained.  
Priscilla laughed nervously, and weakened her grip a little. "S-sorry." She looked down, and tried her hardest to control her fear. "I-it's beautiful..." she commented.  
"It really is, isn't it?"  
Heath looked into the distance, and far away he could see the enormous Bern Castle. If the army kept going at this rate, they would reach the castle a little after nightfall. Perfect timing.  
As he thought about the planned assassination, he didn't notice when Priscilla rested her head on his shoulder. When he did notice her, he wasn't surprised. He just smiled at nothing in particular.  
  
The army reached Bern Castle later than expected, arriving well after night had fallen. As he landed, Heath looked back at Priscilla only to find she had fallen asleep on his shoulder. While she did look rather cute, this would not be good if they had to fight anyone in the castle. Heath gently roused her awake.  
"Getting a little comfortable there, huh?" he asked her, smiling.  
Priscilla's face turned bright red. "I—no—I didn't mean—"  
Heath laughed. "Don't worry about it," he said.  
Priscilla, however, looked ready to burst into tears of embarrassment. She looked away from him, still blushing.  
Heath placed his hand on her shoulder. "It's all right," he continued. "It's not like I'm going to tell anyone about this."  
She looked up at him. "Heath..."  
"Yeah?"  
She opened her mouth to speak, but before she was able to say anything, they heard a shout.  
"DAMMIT!"  
It was Hector.  
"We're too late!" he shouted. "I can already hear fighting inside!"  
"Then come on, everyone!" Eliwood shouted. "We've got to help the guards!"  
There were two gates into the castle, so Eliwood divided the army into two groups and sent them in. Priscilla retrieved her horse from Lucius and came with Heath.  
  
Heath was having trouble. He couldn't maneuver well in the closed spaces of the castle, and there were several mages striking from out of his reach. Priscilla healed any injuries he received, but it was annoying not being able to help out.  
He was finally defeating his first soldier of the battle when it happened.  
Far away from the group, a sage lit up the area around him with a magic symbol. Heath noticed him and wondered what was going on. None of the army was near the sage, and the only magic symbols Heath had ever seen came from attack spells...  
The sage pointed his hand at Heath's group.  
Heath followed the direction he was pointing, and wound up staring directly at Priscilla. His eyes widened.  
Several sparks appeared in the air above her, but she wasn't looking up and didn't notice.  
In a flash, Heath knew what was going to happen.  
"_PRISCILLA!_"  
Priscilla looked at Heath to find Hyperion charging at her at top speed.  
"AH!"  
She screamed as Hyperion knocked her off her horse and she landed on her back. She looked up at Heath, her eyes blazing with anger.  
"Heath! What do you think you're—"  
She didn't have time to finish her sentence as a massive lightning bolt struck Heath down.  
As he fell to the ground, Priscilla's voice reverberated in his head.  
_Y-you pushed me o-out of the way, a-and st-stood in my p-place...and...and...  
_ Heath saw Priscilla pull out another staff. Compared to her normal one, the sapphire at the tip was enormous. The last thing Heath saw before falling unconscious was a blinding white light...  
  
Heath opened his eyes to find himself in his tent.  
Strangely enough, he felt no pain. He felt a strange tingling sensation in his back, but he seemed to be unharmed.  
_What the **hell** was I **thinking**?_ he cursed himself.  
Heath didn't understand why he had just saved Priscilla like that. He could have been killed, and yet...  
And yet he was willing to put his life on the line for her...  
But _why_?  
_Because...   
I love her...  
_ He finally recognized it.  
He _did_ love her, and he didn't want to see her die...  
It was then that he heard voices outside the tent. The first was Priscilla's, which he could hear clearly. The other voice belonged to Raven, but due to his gruff voice Heath couldn't make out the words he was saying.  
"I don't care!" Priscilla was shouting.  
Raven's voice. He sounded furious.  
"Why?"  
Raven's voice.  
"Why do you want me to stay away from him?"  
Heath scowled. So Raven was now trying to get Priscilla away from him instead of the other way around...  
Raven's voice.  
"He would never do that!"  
Raven's voice.  
"What do you mean, 'his kind'?"  
Raven's voice, even angrier than before.  
"I don't _care_! Don't you _get_ it?!"  
Raven's voice.  
"_So what_?! I _love_ him! Nothing you do or say is going to change that!"  
Heath smiled at that comment. She _did_ love him...  
Raven's voice, Heath could tell from his tone it was a question.  
"I...I don't know! I think so..."  
Raven's voice.  
"That's not true! Even if he doesn't, we're still friends!"  
Raven's voice.  
"No! Raymond, why—"  
There was a rustle, and Heath could hear Raven shouting, loud enough for him to make out the words.  
"My name is _not_ Raymond! I am _Raven_ now, and we are _not_ brother and sister! Do you understand?"  
Silence.  
"_I said do you understand?!_"  
"No," Priscilla replied, and Heath could hear her voice shaking with rage. "No, I do not. It doesn't matter what you say. You _are_ my brother. You _are_ Raymond. Why must you hide it?"  
Well, that certainly cleared up a lot of things, Heath thought.  
Raven's voice, Heath couldn't make out his words anymore.  
"I am _finished_ talking to you. I no longer care what you have to say!"  
Priscilla stormed into the tent, eyes blazing. When she saw that Heath was awake, however, the fire quickly left her eyes and her face became very nervous.  
"Y-You're awake..." she stammered.  
"Yeah," Heath replied, unable to think of anything else to say.  
"D-did you hear..."  
"Sort of," Heath said. "Why didn't you just _tell_ me Raven was your brother?"  
"He...he asked me to keep our relationship secret. I do not know why," she added before Heath could ask.  
She was silent for a few seconds, then she suddenly dashed at Heath and flung her arms around him.  
"Heath...I was so worried..."  
Heath put his arms around her waist. "It's all right now," he said.  
She began to cry.  
He didn't know what to say. All he could do was hold her...  
  


***  
  


There you go. Heath realizes his feelings, more fluff. I think that's all that needs to be said.  
  
Please review!!!  
-TheOneAndOnlyT  



	8. Impediment

Well, I see you all liked that little scene last chapter :D  
  
khmerboi919: I think the answers to your questions are rather obvious, don't you think? It wouldn't be much of a story otherwise...  
  
Death Scythe X-9: Raven may just kick Heath's ass very soon...  
  
Chaos Falchion: Well I _am_ writing this, so obviously it's not done yet...  
And HEY! We got another male reviewer! Woohoo!  
  
KingKazul400: That's probably true, but my story isn't going to go that far into the future. Raven will just have to grin and bear it soon...  
And, er...that's not what we're studying in history. We—actually, I'm just going to shut up now. I'd rather not talk about it anymore :/  
  
Millenium Slinky: I sold my fell contract...I didn't get Legault, and you know assassins can't steal and open chests right? I needed someone to do that...mmm, free 25,000G.  
O_o Uhm, I wasn't really intending to scare anyone with that scene...I guess it must have been really good if it scared someone...  
  
And now, the big fight scene...  
  
**

Chapter Eight  
Impediment  
  


** "Heath!"  
Heath crossed his arms and did not look behind him. "What do you want, Raven?" he asked, annoyed.  
The group was now staying in Bern Castle. As a reward for helping prevent the prince's assassination, Bern's queen had given them the location of the Shrine of Seals, but she had insisted that the group stay at least one night and rest. After all, they _had_ been up all of the previous night...  
Heath had been wandering around, finding some of his old friends. Apparently soldiers had been searching for him after his desertion, but seeing as he had just helped save the prince his friends let it slide. After talking with them, he had been walking around the castle some more when Raven had called him.  
When Raven said nothing, Heath turned around, and saw a look of utter hatred on Raven's face. His jaw was clenched, his eyes were narrowed, and his face was dark red. He remained silent.  
"If this is about Priscilla—" Heath started, but he was quickly cut off.  
"_Why_ don't you _listen_, dammit?!" Raven shouted.  
"Because I want her to be happy," Heath replied, his voice steady but full of anger.  
"She will be _happy_ as soon as you leave—"  
"No, she will not. I think I'll use her words here," he said to mock him, "She loves me, and nothing you do or say is going to change that."  
"You told me there was _nothing_ between you two!" he said through clenched teeth.  
"There wasn't when I told you that."  
"She doesn't _deserve_ someone like you! You're just—"  
"—A fugitive. I know. I've—"  
"_She_ doesn't know."  
Heath hadn't thought of that, but he quickly dismissed the thought. "Why should that matter? She's just—"  
"—the stepdaughter of an Etrurian count," Raven told him, grinning venomously.  
Heath's eyes widened.  
Raven's grin grew larger as he saw the effect those words had on him. "Well," he said, "you didn't know _that_, now did you?"  
Heath was barely able to speak. He held one of his hands to his forehead. "No...she's not...she can't be..."  
"She is. And you know what that means? It means you shouldn't even be allowed to _talk_ to her." Raven laughed. "What do you think she'll say when she finds this out _now_, hmm?"  
It couldn't be true. It just couldn't. Why hadn't he known that before? If she found out that he was a fugitive now...  
"You're lying," Heath said weakly.  
"I'm not," Raven replied, laughing again. "I guess now you'll listen to me and stay away from Priscilla, huh?"  
Heath couldn't take it anymore.  
"_You're LYING!_" he shouted, and he brought up his fist and punched Raven in the jaw as hard as he could.  
Raven staggered back, clutching the side of his face, then looked up at Heath with absolute fury in his eyes before charging at him. He tackled Heath, and in seconds, the two were rolling on the floor throwing fists at each other.  
The fight lasted little more than a minute. Raven had managed to get on top of Heath and was punching his face when suddenly a warm light enveloped Heath and he felt the pain in his body disappear. He looked behind Raven to find Priscilla holding her staff. On her face was an expression of fury Heath hadn't thought possible from the young woman.  
Raven looked up at Priscilla in shock. "Why do you heal him...and not me?" he stammered, unable to believe what had just happened.  
"Because you do not deserve it," Priscilla replied, her voice trembling. "I told you, Raymond. You—"  
At the mention of his real name Raven lost control. Completely consumed by rage, he pushed Priscilla back against the wall and held her up by her neck, strangling her. Priscilla's furious expression became one of terror as she dropped her staff and her hands flew to where Raven had grabbed her.  
"_I—am—not—Raymond!_ I have—"  
That was the last straw for Heath. He wouldn't let Raven push him and Priscilla around anymore. He picked up Priscilla's dropped staff and hit Raven across the head with the handle. Raven dropped Priscilla and fell to the ground, unconscious.  
Priscilla slumped against the wall, her face completely white with fear and shock.  
Heath said nothing; instead, he extended his hand to help Priscilla up. She took it and looked up at him, trembling. She looked ready to burst into tears, but she held them back.  
"Come on," Heath said softly. "Let's get back to the room."  
  
The pair walked into the room with Priscilla still trembling. She didn't seem to want to let go of Heath's hand, which she was still holding. Finally, though, she let go and sat down on her bed, saying nothing.  
"Are you all right?" Heath asked.  
She shook her head, eyes welling with tears. Then she got up and flung her arms around him, sobbing into his shoulder.  
"It's my fault...this is all my fault..."  
"No it isn't," Heath said soothingly, and placed his arms around her.  
Priscilla continued to sob. Heath began to stroke her hair to comfort her, but he realized with a start he had never done that before and quickly stopped.  
If it was anyone's fault, he thought, it was Raven's. If he hadn't been here, he and Priscilla would have been left alone...  
_Maybe I should have just listened to him in the first place,_ he thought.  
_No,_ said another part of his mind. _She loves me. I love her. I can't leave her, it will break her heart...  
_ _She's the stepdaughter of an Etrurian count._ Raven's voice suddenly reverberated in his head.  
Heath realized grudgingly that Raven was right. She was a high-ranking noble; she didn't deserve someone like him, a deserter and a fugitive. She loved him...but would she still if she found out his past?  
Heath didn't want to take that risk.  
"It's all right," he said. "I'll make sure Raven doesn't do this again."  
But whether he would do that by force or by compliance, he didn't know.  
She looked up at him with tear-stained eyes. "Heath..."  
"I'll protect you, I swear it," he continued. "Priscilla, I..."  
Priscilla's eyes brightened as if she knew what he wanted to say next.  
_I love you...  
_ But he trailed off.  
He couldn't do it. It would hurt her so much more to learn his past if she knew he loved her.  
"I'll protect you," he repeated instead.  
"Heath," she said, and he swore she sounded a bit disappointed, "thank you."  
  
The army had almost arrived at the Shrine of Seals, but it looked like it would be difficult to get to it.  
Linus's brother, Lloyd, was hell-bent on revenge for his brother's death, and he had called in a huge group of mercenaries to help take care of the three lords. Heath had to do a double take at the size of the enemy force he could see from the air.  
The tactician, however, was confident they could win.  
  
Heath plunged his lance into another fighter.  
Lloyd had apparently taken "quantity over quality" as his motto. His forces vastly outnumbered theirs, but many of the fighters were inexperienced and easily dispatched. Again, Heath had suffered no injuries besides small cuts and bruises.  
Suddenly, he remembered his promise to Priscilla.  
_Please...please come to me for healing even if you aren't really hurt. Don't just assume it will be fine...  
_ He didn't know if he should.  
Priscilla loved being with him. She probably fell more in love with him whenever they were together.  
As much as he hated it, he didn't want Priscilla in love with him, as much as he loved her. He couldn't bear to break her heart, and he knew he would if she found out about...his being a _deserter...  
_ He sighed and made his decision.  
  
The battle had been won, and the seals on the legendary weapons were broken. The army was celebrating. Heath joined in on the celebration. He needed something to make him feel better.  
As he talked with some of the other soldiers, he saw as Priscilla left to their tent. The celebration was breaking up. Heath said his goodnights and went over to his tent.  
But he didn't go inside.  
He waited outside for several minutes, until he was sure it was all right.  
He went inside. Priscilla was asleep on her bed. _Good.  
_ Heath went to his own bed and lay down. He couldn't believe he was making sure Priscilla would be able to talk to him as little as possible. And yet...he knew he had to if he wanted her to stay happy.  
As he lay down, he looked at Priscilla on the far bed. She turned fitfully in her sleep.  
_I'm sorry, Priscilla...  
I love you...  
_ He fell asleep.  
  


***  
  


Aww...A bit of angsty-ness in this chapter. However, it will be resolved rather quickly, so please don't kill me _  
*sighs* We're coming up to the end...  
  
Please review!!!  
-TheOneAndOnlyT  



	9. Truth

Millenium Slinky: Of course I update fast, you didn't notice that until now? :P  
As for writing more stories...I'm going to take a break when this is done. However, you can be sure I'll write more in the future.  
  
khmerboi919: Your questions are about to be answered...  
  
Phoenix Dagger: Thanks for the review!  
  
Death Scythe X-9: You have to keep in mind he was already full of anger after fighting with Heath. Priscilla calling him Raymond just set him off.  
  
I hope you'll all like this chapter...I've spent a lot of time on it.  
  
**

Chapter Nine  
Truth  
  


** "Heath?"  
The army was now on their way to where Durandal, the sword of sacred fire, lay. Heath hadn't talked to Priscilla at all since the battle at the Shrine of Seals. Some of his bruises from that battle were still present.  
Heath regretfully stayed out of the tent every night until he was sure Priscilla was asleep. He didn't know how much longer he could keep this up. And Raven was glaring at him every time Heath saw him, although somehow, Heath noticed, his injuries from their previous fight had already healed.  
Heath had been keeping out of his tent again, when someone had called his name. It wasn't Priscilla or Raven. He turned around and saw Lucius.  
"Heath?" Lucius repeated. "That...is your name, correct?"  
"Yes," Heath replied. "And you are...Lucius?"  
"I am."  
"What is it?"  
"Raven told me to tell you something."  
Heath scowled. "Well you can tell him that I don't care what—"  
Lucius interrupted him. "He wanted me to tell you that he is going to stop bothering you."  
Whatever Heath had been expecting, it wasn't that.  
Heath's eyes widened. "You're kidding," he said in a voice that was half shocked, half relieved.  
Lucius gave him a small smile. "It is true," he said.  
"I can't believe it. Did...did you have anything to do with this?"  
"I suppose I did. After your..." he searched for the right word, "altercation, he came to me. We are in the same tent, you see. I healed his injuries and asked him what happened."  
"And you managed to convince him to stay away from me?"  
"You are half right," he said with a slight sigh. "He wanted me to tell you one other thing. He may have decided to leave you alone, but he still does not trust you in the least."  
"I see." Well, that explained his continued glares, Heath thought.   
"However," Lucius continued, "he says that if you hurt her, then he will take action."  
"That's all right," Heath said. As he thought about Raven, he asked, "Lucius, may I ask you something?"  
"Certainly," the bishop replied.  
"Do you know why Raven...why he is so protective of Priscilla?"  
Lucius sighed. "I suppose you have a right to know," he said. "You see, Raven and Priscilla are brother and sister."  
"I know that," Heath said.  
"You do?" Lucius asked with surprise.  
"Yes," Heath replied. "I...overheard him and Priscilla talking."  
"I see. Well...I do not know if you are aware of this, but Raven and Priscilla...they are the children of the late marquess of Cornwell, in Lycia."  
Heath had heard about that noble house before. "Wasn't he the one who was...found guilty of stealing the country's funds?"  
"You are correct," Lucius replied. "I was a vassal in service to their house at the time. Raven and Priscilla were only children."  
"What happened?"  
"The marquess of Cornwell was an extremely kind man. Too kind. He gave money to all those who needed it. However...his house rapidly fell into debt. And when the loaners came for their payments...he had no choice."  
"I see," Heath said. "But this doesn't tell me why Raven—"  
"I am getting to that. When house Ostia, Lycia's ruling territory, decided to disband house Cornwell for their crimes, the marquess...he sent Priscilla away for adoption by the Etrurian count Caerleon, a good friend of his. He then...took his own life..." Lucius sighed.  
"What happened to Raven?"  
"He found out what had happened, and planned revenge on house Ostia. He discarded his name and took the name Raven, and trained to become a swordfighter. House Ostia sent us to serve in house Caelin, where Lady Lyndis is from.  
"When this army came to save the Caelin castle from an attack, Priscilla found Raven. They were both overjoyed at finding each other. And yet...the only reason he came with this army...was to get revenge on house Ostia."  
"How do you mean?" Heath asked.  
"You are aware that Lord Hector is the younger brother of the marquess of Ostia, correct?"  
Heath's eyes widened in realization. "Does he still plan to—"  
"I am not sure. He has told me that he no longer wishes to do so, but I cannot be certain."  
"But...why is he so protective of Priscilla?"  
Lucius sighed. "Heath...he was only a child when Priscilla was sent away. The pain must have been...almost too great to bear. And after the marquess took his own life...Priscilla is the only relative he has left. He...does not want her to leave again."  
Heath suddenly remembered the first thing Raven had said to him.  
_What the hell do you think you've been doing, taking Priscilla away from me?  
_ So that was what he had meant...  
"But...how did you convince him to leave me alone?" he asked.  
"I—he failed to realize that Priscilla is her own woman, and that she should make her own decisions. He does not want her to leave, but...I convinced him that this is what she wanted, and this is what would make her happiest." He gave Heath another small smile. "The spirit of Saint Elimine has smiled upon you, Heath. She truly loves you."  
Heath smiled at the bishop. "Do you really think so?"  
"I know it, Heath. Have you not seen the way she looks at you? How she cares for you above all others? It is practically a certainty. And," he gave a slight chuckle, "I believe you have feelings for her as well."  
Heath continued to smile, but his mind was racing. Raven wasn't bothering him anymore. That was great. And yet...  
He still couldn't talk to Priscilla...  
"Thank you, Lucius," Heath said.  
"May the graces of Saint Elimine continue to shine upon you, Heath," Lucius said with a smile, before bowing and walking away.  
"Wait," Heath called after him.  
"Hmm?" Lucius turned around.  
"One more thing...why didn't Raven tell me this himself?"  
Lucius smiled ruefully. "He is...not very good at apologies."  
"I see," Heath said, laughing a little. "Then could you tell him...that now that I know why he felt this way...that I'm...I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused him."  
Lucius's smile grew wider. "Priscilla truly made a wise choice," he commented. "I will tell him."  
  
Heath went back to his tent, figuring that his conversation with Lucius must have been long enough for Priscilla to fall asleep. He went inside.  
The first thing he noticed was that Priscilla was _not_ asleep.  
She sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the ground in thought. Her lower lip quivered, and she looked ready to burst into tears any second.  
Heath hesitated. His first thought was to leave before she saw him. And yet...he couldn't stand seeing Priscilla like this.  
"Priscilla?" he asked.  
She looked up at him, and her eyes narrowed in anger.  
Heath didn't know what to make of that. "Are you all right?" he asked.  
"Heath," Priscilla said, "why...why have you been avoiding me lately?"  
Heath felt the color drain out of his face. So she had noticed...  
"A-avoiding?" he stammered, "I...haven't been avoiding you..."  
"Yes you have!" she said. "Why haven't you come to me for healing, like you said you would?"  
"B-because," he said, but he couldn't find a reasonable explanation. He trailed off.  
Angry tears began streaking down Priscilla's face. "Heath...you promised me...you promised me that you would come to me, no matter how slight the injury..."  
"I-I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't—"  
"Heath...have you b-broken y-your promise?"  
"No!" he shouted. "I...I just..."  
"Then why, Heath, why? Why have you stayed away from me? You _promised!_"  
"Priscilla..."  
"W-What if something had happened?! What if you were hurt?! What would you have done without me there?!"  
"Priscilla, please..."  
"What if," her voice had dropped to an angry whisper, "What if you had _died_? Do you have any idea how I would feel? Don't...don't you care about my feelings? Heath..."  
She broke down completely. Heath tried to comfort her, tried to put his hand on her shoulder, but she angrily pushed it away. "Get away from me!" she yelled.  
"Priscilla, let me ex—"  
She stood up, furious. "You don't care! You don't care how I feel at all! You only care about yourself! You just want to be a hero, just like your former captain, don't you?! To die in battle gloriously, right? That's why you saved me from that lightning spell, so you could die a hero, right?!"  
Heath couldn't believe what she was saying. "That's not true! Priscilla, I _do_ care how you feel!"  
"Then why?" she said, whispering again. "Why do you avoid me? Do you hate me? Did I do something wrong?"  
Heath didn't know how to tell her.  
"You hate me, don't you?!" she continued. "You never liked me, you just made a false pr—"  
"Priscilla, I _love_ you!"  
For a moment, there was absolute silence.  
He had said it. Oh no, this was _not_ good. He certainly hadn't been expecting to tell her like this...  
Priscilla's tears stopped abruptly. "W-...what?" she whispered.  
He hesitated before repeating, "I love you, Priscilla..."  
He shouldn't have said it. Now he was going to break her heart...  
"You...you do?" she asked.  
He nodded slowly.  
Priscilla slowly smiled as she thought she understood. "Oh...Heath, i-if you felt that way about me...you didn't have to—"  
"I didn't stay away from you because of that," he said, and Priscilla's smile quickly faded. "It's just...I found out...that you are the daughter of a noble, and..." He trailed off.  
"And what?"  
"Priscilla, you didn't know...I'm sorry."  
"What? I didn't know what?"  
"I'm..." He sighed. He knew he had to tell her. "I'm a fugitive from Bern. Normally—"  
"I know," she interjected.  
Heath didn't think he had heard correctly. "What?"  
"I know, Heath..." Her voice was now barely above a whisper.  
"But...but how?"  
"Raven told me...he told me to try to get me away from you..."  
Heath scowled internally, but he hid his anger, as it really didn't seem to matter anymore.  
"Then...you don't care?" he said.  
"Why...why should I?" she replied.   
"I...I thought if you knew I was a fugitive, you wouldn't want me around anymore..."  
"Heath...how could you believe such a thing? I could never do that..."  
He found himself protesting despite himself, still unable to believe what she had said.  
"But...but I..."  
"Heath...status doesn't change anything. If you were out fighting and got hurt, whether or not you were a fugitive, I..." Her eyes began welling with tears. "...I wouldn't be able to live with myself..."  
"Priscilla..."  
"Heath...i-if you died...because I wasn't there..." She buried her face in her hands.  
He went over to her and put his arms around her. "Priscilla...It's all right. I'm here. I won't avoid you anymore."  
"Heath..." She wrapped her arms around him, eyes still shining with tears. "I'm...I'm sorry for yelling at you. I didn't know..."  
"Don't worry about it.... All that matters now is that I'm here for you."  
"Heath...promise me...that you'll stay by my side."  
"I promise," he replied, and smiled. He pulled her closer. "I never want to leave you, Priscilla."  
Priscilla smiled back at him, but then her face slowly took on a pained look, as if she had just realized something terrible. She looked away from him.  
"Priscilla? What's the matter?" he asked.  
Tears began falling from her eyes once again.  
"I...I love you, Heath..." she whispered, still not looking at him.  
"Priscilla," he whispered, giving her a comforting squeeze, "I love you too."  
But it didn't seem to help.  
Priscilla looked up at him, the pained look still on her face, tears glistening on her cheeks. Then, without warning, she pulled his face to hers and gave him a passionate kiss.  
Heath was surprised by her sudden action at first, but he kissed her back.  
He didn't know how to feel. This should have been the happiest moment of his life. But something wasn't right.  
After what seemed like an eternity, Priscilla broke the kiss, and then began to sob uncontrollably, burying her face in Heath's shoulder.  
"What's wrong, Priscilla?"  
"I...I don't w-want to have to l-leave you," she sobbed. "I love y-you, Heath..."  
"Priscilla...why are you crying? There's no reason for me to—"  
And then it hit him.  
"...leave...you..." he finished, tears threatening to form in his own eyes. "Oh...Priscilla..."  
She looked up at him, her eyes and face red from crying.  
"Heath...i-if only...if only time could stop..." she whispered.  
"Yes," he whispered, "if...if only..."  
She kissed him again, even as a single tear ran down her face...  
  


***  
  


*stares at screen in shock*  
Oh...my...God. Did I just write that? There is _no way_ I just wrote that.  
And even still, I can't help thinking that something's wrong with it...please review and tell me that I'm wrong!  
*sniffs* The next chapter is the last...  
  
Please review!!!  
-TheOneAndOnlyT  



	10. Epilogue

khmerboi919: Once again, your questions are about to be answered...  
  
Millenium Slinky: *brushes off confetti* er...thanks.  
The way I write so fast is by using a little technique I like to call "writing as I go". What I do is lay out what I basically want to happen beforehand, but everything else is written when I come to it. All I have to do is think "hmm, what would happen now" and write it. This helps especially with dialogue (and there's a lot of it) because I just think of what each character would say in a certain situation.  
  
o_O: Woohoo, another male reviewer!  
  
And now, the ending...  
  
**

Epilogue  
  


** "Heath! Priscilla!"  
The two were just coming out of their tent the next morning when they found Raven standing right in front of them. Priscilla visibly tensed, and immediately clung to Heath, afraid that Raven might hurt her again.  
"It's all right," Heath told her. "He's not going to do anything."  
She relaxed her grip a little, but still held on to him.  
"What is it, Raven?" Heath asked.  
Raven sighed and looked at the ground, embarrassed. Lucius had been right, Raven was not very good at apologies.  
"I believe Lucius talked to you last night," he said softly.  
"Yeah, he did," Heath replied.  
Priscilla looked at Heath inquisitively, but he told her that he would tell her later.  
"No, I'll tell her," Raven said. He looked at Priscilla. "Priscilla," he said slowly, "is this truly what you want? Will staying with Heath make you happy?"  
She nodded.  
"Then..." He sighed again. "Then I will not stop you. I...wish you all the happiness in the world."  
Priscilla's face immediately brightened, and she threw her arms around her brother.  
"Oh, thank you...thank you, Raymond."  
Heath saw Raven tense at the mention of his real name, but he did nothing else.  
Priscilla let go, and put her arms around Heath again.  
"Heath," Raven said, looking at him, "please make her happy. It is something that...I could not do myself."  
Heath and Priscilla looked at each other longingly, remembering that they could not stay together long.  
He looked back at Raven. "I...I will," he said.  
  
Heath and Priscilla were inseparable after that night. They never left each other's side in the time they had before their mission was completed. Heath took Priscilla flying every chance that he could, and Priscilla's fear of heights all but disappeared with Heath by her side.  
They stayed by each other in the battles that eventually came, first at the Ostian castle, then on the Dread Isle, and finally at the Dragon's Gate itself. They could not do much besides hold each other as they watched the three lords and Archsage Athos battle Nergal and the dragon that he managed to call through the portal.  
After the threat that Nergal posed to the world had been eliminated, Heath and Priscilla went back to the Caerleon castle, as Heath did not have another place to go. They knew that he would have to leave soon afterwards, however, but they cherished the little time they had left...  
  
"Heath!"  
Priscilla's worried shout echoed throughout the Caerleon castle.  
Heath had stayed at the castle for three days. Today was the day that he had to leave, and Priscilla was looking for him, so that she might be able to say goodbye.  
She became more and more worried as she searched room after room and found no one.  
"Heath," she said to herself, "you can't have left me already...I didn't even say goodbye..."  
She searched for him more, but she did not find him.  
"No...please still be here...please..."  
She could not find him.  
She wanted to break down, to cry, but the tears would not come forth. Instead, she walked slowly to her room.  
As she opened her door, she noticed a piece of paper on her bed. It was a letter.  
She picked it up and read it.  
And for a moment, all that could be heard in the Caerleon castle was a single, anguished wail.  
  
A cottage sat at the base of the Bern Mountains. The man who lived there had little contact with the outside world. He had lived there for some time, content with his life, except for one thing...  
_If only...if only time could stop...  
_ Several years had passed since that moment, and still Heath could not stop thinking about it. It played through his mind, over and over.  
It had been painful to leave her. He still regretted his decision to this day, and every night he wondered what would have happened if things had been different...  
_If only...if only time could stop...  
_ He had realized it at that very moment. That was what it all came down to, his being a fugitive. She didn't care about that, she had said that much. But she was a high-ranking noble, soon to become Countess Caerleon herself. He was a deserter, from another country at that. They could not be together; the laws would never allow it, no matter how much they wished otherwise.  
Heath remembered how he had stayed in the castle of the Caerleons for a few days. The Caerleons were very kind, and they accepted that she loved him, but they were powerless to change the laws. He could not stay for very long. He knew that eventually he would have to leave her, but he couldn't bear to say goodbye to her face-to-face. Instead, being the foolish man that he was, he had left her a letter.  
He still remembered what he had written:  
_Dearest Priscilla,  
I can't bear to see you cry. I am writing this because I do not wish to see you cry once more. I'm leaving. I don't know where I'm going, but please do not look for me. We cannot be together, as much as I wish otherwise. Please know that even though it was brief, the time we spent together was the happiest of my life. I wish I could see your face again before I leave, but I can't stay any longer. Goodbye, Priscilla.  
I love you,  
Heath  
_ Even now he called himself a fool for writing that.  
One year after he left, he decided that he could not take it anymore. He had to go see her once more. He had flown to the Caerleon castle only to find that she was no longer there. He found out that she had been as unable to accept their separation as he had. She had left to look for him, despite the fact that he asked her not to. And now, he might never see her again...  
He had retired to this cottage, no longer finding any reason to live elsewhere. He hated it, but he knew he was doomed to live the rest of his life alone, with only his wyvern for company.  
_If only...if only time could stop...  
_ The image played again in his mind. He sighed.  
He was suddenly jolted out of his thoughts as he heard a knock on his door. He wondered who it could be, as few people even knew he existed out here.  
His confusion turned to joy as he opened the door and saw her.  
They embraced each other, squeezing each other as tight as they could.  
"Heath," she whispered, "I finally found you...It's been so long..."  
"Priscilla...I never should have left you..."  
"That doesn't matter now...I've found you, and now I will not let you leave..."  
  
Heath awoke in the middle of the night. The first thing he did was feel the space in his bed next to him. Nothing there.  
He panicked. Had it all been a dream? He remembered Priscilla coming to his cottage and finding him, they had spent some time catching up with each other, then when he decided to go to bed, she had come with him. He remembered feeling pure exhilaration as he felt Priscilla beside him, thinking that the images of her in his mind would finally come to an end.  
He felt the space next to him again just to make sure. Again, nothing there.  
Apparently, the images hadn't stopped; instead, he had just been fooled by another one.  
He scowled and sat up, opening his eyes. Would this never end?  
He looked to his side, and there she was.  
She was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking out the window at the moon in the clear night sky. The moonlight shone on her pale skin, making her look even more beautiful than she already was.  
He reached out to touch her, to make sure this wasn't another image.  
She gave a small gasp as he touched her and turned around.  
"Oh, it's just you," she said, breathing a sigh of relief. "You startled me."  
So it hadn't been a dream...  
He gave her a wide smile.  
"What are you smiling at?" she asked playfully.  
Heath swung his legs over the edge of the bed and sat beside her. "You," he said. "I still can't believe you're here—just now I woke up and I thought I had dreamt you coming here."  
She smiled, then put her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder.  
He put his arms around her and asked, "Why are you awake?"  
"I was just...thinking," she replied. "I remember when I decided to give up my status and look for you...I couldn't care less whether or not I was a Caerleon, as long as I found you. But now that I finally have..." She trailed off.  
"You miss them?" he asked.  
She sighed. "Yes, I do. But...I would rather stay here with you."  
Heath looked at her and smiled. "Do you really mean that?"  
Priscilla raised her head and smiled back at him. "Yes," she replied. "If I was unable to be with you, I would regret it for the rest of my life. When I was looking for you...I could never stop thinking about you..."  
"Me too," he said. "I never went a day without remembering the time we spent together..."  
They stared at each other smiling silently for a few moments, before Priscilla broke the silence with a whisper.  
"I love you, Heath..."  
"I love you too, Priscilla..."  
She brought her face to his and kissed him.  
At that moment, both of them wished that time could stop right then and there, just as they had many years ago.  
But this time, it was not out of sadness.  
For at that moment, they were the happiest people alive.  
  
_

The End  
  


_ OK, I'm _sure_ I messed that one up...  
I'm going to give you guys a few days to review, then I'll post my final responses and comments.  
  
Please review!!!  
-TheOneAndOnlyT  



	11. Closing Comments

**

Closing Comments  
  


** First off, for those of you who are wondering why Heath left Priscilla initially, I'm just keeping it faithful to their ending :P  
  
Well, looks like I finally finished my first attempt at a multi-chapter fic. Go me. Of course, this story wouldn't have been finished without all of your reviews. I'd like to give big shout-outs to Millenium Slinky and khmerboi919 for staying with this story from the start and reviewing every chapter. But of course, I thank each and every one of the people who reviewed my story and gave me the encouragement to finish it. Thank you all!  
  
As for future plans, I'm going to lay off writing for a little while, but I'll be back later. I have a few ideas for new stories, although I'm still dubious about them.  
  
Remember, you can always contact me on AIM at TheOneAndOnlyT15 if you want to talk to me.  
  
So, thanks to all of the reviewers, and until next time,  
-TheOneAndOnlyT 


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